Modular data center

ABSTRACT

A modular data center includes a unitary rack having multiple side-by-side bays which are arranged to carry electronic components. The rack has a first passageway on its front side which provides access to the electronic components mounted in the bays. The rack has a second passageway located adjacent to the back side of the bays. A plurality of fans circulate cooling air vertically in a first direction through either the first or second passageway and then horizontally through the bays. In the preferred embodiment, the air flows vertically in the opposite direction in the other passageway back to the fan to be cooled and recirculated. The rack and fans can either be inserted into a trailer or container or walls can be built around them to provide a modular unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many businesses have extensive computer and telecommunication equipmentwhich needs to be readily accessible and have the components housed in amanner that allow them to be easily replaced. This is accomplishedthrough a data center comprising a series of racks which are configuredto carry multiple electronic components. The data center provides asystematic way to provide power to these components along with thewiring necessary to operate them. Because electronic components generatesignificant heat, the data center also provides cooling air at therequired level for the components in the data center. Constructing adata center of any complexity takes considerable time and incursconsiderable expense. And yet, data centers often must be provided onshort notice. In addition, a data center may be required at a particularlocation for only a short period of time, after which it may benecessary to disassemble it and move it to a new location. When thisoccurs, the data center is out of use while it is being disassembled andreassembled at considerable expense.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The subject invention over comes this problem by providing a modulardata center which contains all of the necessary infrastructure and canbe built off-site in a factory and delivered to its desired location andbecome operational quickly and at less expense than building a datacenter from scratch on site. In addition, it can later be easily movedto a different location. This is accomplished with a unitary rack havingmultiple side-by-side bays configured to carry electronic components.The rack has a first passageway which provides access to the front sideof the bays and a second passageway on the back side of the bays. Aplurality of fans associated with the rack circulate cool air verticallythrough either the first or second passageway and then horizontallythrough the bays to cool the components mounted in the bays. In apreferred embodiment, the rack and fans can be inserted as a unit into atrailer or a container or walls can be built around the rack, either ofwhich allows the entire data center to be easily moved.

The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of theinvention will be more readily understood upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a trailer containing a modular datacenter embodying the subject invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the data center with its own wallsand top.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation view showing an equalizer used tocontrol air flow through a rack which is a component of the data center.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a foreshortened perspective view of the rack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5 of the drawings, a mobile data centerincludes a rack 10 which is a unitary structure preferably made frommetal tubing 12. The rack has a width “W”, a height “H” and length “L”.In the embodiment illustrated, the rack contains two rows ofside-by-side bays 14 which are sized to carry multiple electroniccomponent chassis 16 each of which is capable of carrying multipleelectronic components 18. The rows of bays are separated from oneanother by a first passageway 20 which is defined by the front side 22of the bays 14. The chassis 16 are inserted into the bays and theelectronic components are inserted into the chassis from the front sides22 and the electronic components 18 are accessed from the passageway. Inorder to accommodate this, the passageway has a width which allows aperson to walk through it. A series of holes 24 are located atappropriate intervals in the front sides of the tubing 12 in order toallow the chassis to be bolted to the rack. The rack 10 extendsrearwardly from the back side 26 of the bays to form second passageways28 behind the bays. The second passageways 28 contain the wiring (notshown) for the electronic components 18, as well as provide a passagewayfor cooling air, as will be explained more fully later. The secondpassageways 28 can be considerably narrower than the first passageway20. A wire raceway 30 is attached to the top of the rack.

While the rack shown has two rows of bays 14 separated by a firstpassageway 20 on one side and has a second passageway 28 on the otherside, there could be different configurations. For example, there couldbe a single bay 14 with a first passageway 20 on one side and a secondpassageway 28 on the other. The rack could also have more than two baysso long as each bay has a first passageway 20 on one side and a secondpassageway 28 on the other side.

Referring now in particular to FIG. 2, in use the rack 10 preferably isplaced on top of a self-contained fan unit 32. The fan unit 32 has afree standing frame 34 which carries a plurality of plenum fans 36.Preferably, the fans 36 are arranged in rows with one row of fans beinglocated generally below each row of bays 14. Preferably there is one fan36 for each bay 14. The fans 36 are oriented such that their inlets 38are located below the second passageway 28 of the associated row of bays14 and their outlets 40 are located below the first passageway 20 whenthe rack is placed on top of the fan unit 32. The fans 36 are preferablyare plenum fans.

The top surface of the fan unit frame 34, which underlies the secondpassageway 28, can either be open or can have a grate 42 or similarstructure that can be walked on but air can readily flow through. Thetop surface of the fan unit frame 34 that underlies the first passageway20 is configured to receive a porous panel or grate 44 either of whichcan be walked on and which air freely passes through. Cooling coils 47are installed on the inlet sides 38 of the fans 36. The cooling coils 47receive refrigerant or chilled water from a chiller or condensing unit49.

The rack 10 can be used several ways. Referring to FIG. 1, the rack 10and fan unit 32 can be inserted into a trailer 48. Depending on theheight of the trailer 48, the fan unit 32 might have to be placed in thetrailer first and positioned in the trailer well before the rack 10 isplaced in the trailer. Installing the rack 10 and fans 36 in a trailerprovides a truly mobile unit. The rack 10 and fan unit 32 can be placedin the trailer, the fan unit provided with power and wiring can beinstalled for the electronic components in a factory. The trailer 48 canthen be pulled to the site at which it will be used and the electroniccomponents 18 can easily be installed. In addition, this trailer 48 canbe moved from site to site as necessary. In this application, the widthof the rack 10 is just enough smaller than the width of the trailer 48that the rack can be put in the trailer. The trailer walls 50 define theoutside boundary of the second passageways 28. A portion of the trailer48 can be used as the vestibule 51 which contains the chiller 49 whichprovides chilled refrigerant to the cooling coils 47. If desired, therack 10 and fan unit 32 could also be installed in a standard shippingcontainer (not shown). Alternatively, walls 52 and top 54 can beattached to the frame 10 and fan unit 32 using normal constructiontechnology, FIG. 2. This can either be done in a factory or at the sitethe data unit will be used. In operation, the fans 36 circulate cooledair through the racks 10. Air flowing out of the outlets 40 of the fans36 flows vertically upward in the first passageway 20. The air thenflows horizontally through the electronic components 18 located in thebays 14. The air then flows vertically downward through the secondpassageways 28 through the cooling coils 47 and into the inlets 38 ofthe fans.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, equalizers 56 are mounted on the backside 26 of the bays 14. The equalizers 56 allow regulating the amount ofair that passes through different vertical portions of each bay. In apreferred embodiment, the equalizers include first plates 58 which areattached to the back side of each bay 14. The first plates 58 have aseries of elongated slots 60 extending through them. Slideably attachedto each first plate 58 is a second plate 62 which has a series ofelongated slots 64 located in it, which are the same as slots 60. Thesecond plate 62 is movable relative to the first plate 58 between anopen position where the slots 60 and 64 are aligned with one another anda closed position where the slots 60 in the first plate 58 arecompletely covered by the second plate 62. A ratchet mechanism 66 allowseach second plate 62 to be moved incrementally between its open andclosed positions. A tool (not shown) is inserted into a receptacle 68 inthe ratchet mechanism 66 to adjust the second plate 62 to the desiredlocation. Because this requires access to the second passageways 28, atube 70, FIG. 1, runs between the front side 22 of the bays 14 to theback side 26 of the bays coincident with each receptacle 68 to allow theratchet mechanism to be operated from the first passageway 20. In theembodiment illustrated, there are four (4) equalizers 56 in each bay,but there could be more or less depending on the application.

If the data center is going to be located outside in a region that has acool season, a first vent opening 70 is placed in the wall 50, 52adjacent the top of each bay 14. A first shutter 72, located in eachfirst vent opening 70, is movable between an open position where air canpass through it and a closed position where air cannot pass through it.A second vent opening 74 is placed in the wall 50, 52 adjacent each fan36. A second shutter 76, located in each second vent opening 74, ismovable between and an open position where air can pass through it and aclosed position where air cannot pass through it.

A third shutter 78 is located in the opening 42 between the fan unit 32and each second passageway 28. The third shutter 78 is movable betweenan open position where air can pass through it and a closed positionwhere air cannot pass through it. When the first and second shutters 72and 76 are in their closed positions and the third shutter 78 is in itsopen position, air is circulated in the manner described above and asshown in the left hand side of FIG. 2. However, when the data center isplaced outside, on a cool day the first and second shutters 72, 76 canbe placed in their open positions and the third shutter 78 can be placedin its closed position. The fans 36 then draw outside air through thesecond vent openings 74 and into their inlets 38. The air then exhauststhe fans through their outlets 40 and goes vertically upwardly throughthe first passageways 20, through the bays 14 and out the first ventopenings 70.

The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoingspecification are used therein as terms of description and not oflimitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms andexpressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown anddescribed or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of theinvention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.

1. A data center comprising: (a) a unitary rack having multipleside-by-side bays, said bays having a front side and a rear side; (b)said bays being configured to carry multiple electronic components; (c)said rack having a first passageway which provides access to saidelectronic components from said front side of said bays; (d) said rackhaving a second passageway located adjacent said rear side of said bays;and (e) a plurality of fans having inlets and outlets, at least one ofsaid fans in said plurality of said of fans being arranged to circulateair exiting its outlet vertically through one of said first and secondpassageways, then horizontally through one or more of said bays.
 2. Thedata center of claim 1 wherein said at least one of said fans isarranged to normally pull air that passes horizontally through said oneor more of said bays vertically back into its inlet.
 3. The data centerof claim 1 further comprising cooling coils associated with said fans tocool air being circulated through said rack.
 4. The data center of claim1 wherein said rack has two rows of said bays, one row on each side ofsaid first passageway.
 5. The data center of claim 4 wherein said rackhas two second passageways, one located adjacent the rear side of eachrow of said bays.
 6. The data center of claim 1 wherein said fans arelocated below said rack.
 7. The data center of claim 6 wherein said fansare configured such that air exits the outlets of said fans into saidfirst passageway.
 8. The data center of claim 7 wherein one of said fansis associated with each of said bays.
 9. The data center of claim 6wherein said plurality of fans are part of a self-contained fan unitwhich is separate from said rack.
 10. The data center of claim 9including a porous panel which forms a floor in said first passagewayand through which said air passes.
 11. The data center of claim 10wherein said porous panel is removably mounted in said fan unit.
 12. Thedata center of claim 9 including a grated panel which forms a floor insaid first passageway.
 13. The data center of claim 12 wherein saidpanel is removably mounted in said fan unit.
 14. The data center ofclaim 1 wherein said fans are plenum fans.
 15. The modular data centerof claim 1 including an equalizer which allows controlling how much ofsaid air passes through different portions of said bays.
 16. The modulardata center of claim 9 wherein said plurality of fans are part of aself-contained unit which is located below said rack and is separatefrom said rack and said self-contained unit is configured to supportsaid porous panels.
 17. The modular data center of claim 3 including achiller which provides refrigerant to said cooling coils.
 18. Themodular data center of claim 1 including a trailer which said rack andsaid plurality of fans is placed into.
 19. The modular data center ofclaim 1 including walls which are attached to said rack outwardly ofsecond passageway.
 20. The modular data center of claim 1 including awire raceway which is mounted on said rack.
 21. The modular data centerof claim 20 wherein said wire raceway is located above said rack. 22.The modular data center of claim 18 including a vestibule locatedadjacent to said rack which is accessible from said first passageway.23. The modular data center of claim 22 including a chiller which islocated in said vestibule and provides refrigerant to said cooling coil.24. The modular data center of claim 18 wherein said fans are configuredsuch that air exits out of said outlets of said fans into said firstpassageway, including: (a) said trailer has at least one wall whichencloses said second passageway, (b) said at least one wall having firstvent openings located therein, proximate an upper extremity of saidrack; (c) first shutters located adjacent said first vent openings whichmove between open positions where air can exit said trailer through saidfirst vent openings and closed positions where air cannot exit saidtrailer through said first vent openings; (d) said at least one wallhaving second vent openings located therein proximate the inlets of saidfans; (e) second shutters located adjacent said second vent openingswhich are movable between open positions where air can enter saidtrailer through said second vent openings and closed positions where aircannot enter said trailer through said second vent openings; wherein (f)when said first and second shutters are in their open positions, saidfans draw air from outside of said trailer through said second ventopenings and circulate it vertically through said first passageway thenhorizontally through said bays and then out of said trailer through saidfirst vent openings.
 25. The modular data center of claim 19 whereinsaid fans are configured such that air exits out of said outlets of saidfans into said first passageway including: (a) said rack having at leastone wall associated therewith which encloses said second passageway; (b)said at least one wall having first vent openings located thereinproximate an upper extremity of said rack; (c) first shutters locatedadjacent said first vent openings which are movable between openpositions where air can exit said at least one wall through said firstvent openings and closed positions where air cannot exit said at leastone wall through said first vent openings; (d) said at least one wallhaving second vent openings located therein proximate the inlets of saidfans; (e) second shutters located adjacent said second vent openingswhich are movable between open positions wherein air can enter said fansthrough said second vent openings and closed positions where air cannotenter said fans through said second vent openings; wherein (f) when saidfirst and second shutters are in their open positions said fans drawoutside air through said second vent openings and circulate itvertically through said first passageway then horizontally through oneor more of said bays and then out of said rack through said first ventopenings.